Buckle



-23',' 1942. H. BEAZLEY BUCKLE Filed Sept. 27, l9 41 INVENTOR HOWARD BEAZLEY ATTORNEY -my invention Figure l. is

Patented June 23, 1942 UNITE TAT E S P 7 Claims.

My invention relates to a buckle of the type employed for the safety belts worn by aviators and parachutists and particularly to improvements in the specific form of buckle shown and described in my application for patent Serial No. 368,166, filed December 2, 1940, now Patent No. 2,253,749, granted August 26, 1941.

The object of my invention is to provide improved means actuating the tongue, or gang of tongues, by means of which the free end of the belt is secured in locked position in the type of buckle above referred to.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates some forms of buckles made in accordance with a top planview of one form together with a portion of a belt to which it is applied; Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, the belt being omitted and the buckle shown in released position; Figure 4 is a side view of the buckle alone; Figure 5 is an end view, partly in elevation and partly in section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a top plan view of a modified form of buckle; Figure 7 is a section taken on the line l-| of Figure 6; Figure 8 is an end view of the form shown in Figures 6 and 7, partly in elevation and partly in section; Figure 9 is a bottom plan view of a further modification; Figure 10 is a section taken on the line Ill-4U of Figure 9; Figure 11 is a section taken on the line ll-H of Figure 9.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, the frame of the buckle is formed of a casting provided with an intermediate belt'supporting table I and with an end plate 2 to which the fixed end 3 of the belt is secured by any suitable means such as rivets 4 passing through openings 5 in the plate. The end of the frame opposite the plate is provided with a keeper 6 for the free end 3 of the belt. The keeper is spaced from the table to provide a slot 1 for the passage of the belt end 3 and the body of the frame is provided with an inclined face 8 to guide such end. Formed in the body of the frame is a slot 9 in which moves a cross bar Iii carrying the tapering tongues H which engage with grommets l2 in the end 3' of the belt. These tongues are rigidly secured to the bar by any suitable means, such as the pin l3 (Figure 3) passing through said bar. They project through openings [4 in the table. Aligning openings 15 are provided in the bottom of the frame for convenience of assembly. The ends of the bar are provided with trunnions I6 which engage eccentrically with cam disks l1. These disks are formed integral with or non-rotatably secured to a pair of arms l8 connected by a finger piece l9. Each of the disks is positioned between a pair of shoulders 29 formed in one end of the frame so that when the finger piece is swung from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 3, bar I!) will be shifted from the front end of the slot 9 to the rear end. This shifts the lower ends of the tongues in the direction of the length of the buckle to incline the belt engaging faces of the tongues to the face of the table and thus release the end of the belt. I

In Figures 6, '7, and 8, I have shown a modified form of buckle in which the frame instead of being a casting is formed of a sheet of metal 21 having turned over edges forming side pieces 22. In this form the central part of the sheet forms the table I, one end of it the plate 2 and the other the keeper 6, a portion 23 being bent down to provide the slot 1 and guiding face 8. It will be seen that in this form plate 2 is not offset from the table. For this reason it may be found desirable to secure end 3 of the belt to the under side of plate 2 instead of to the top thereof as shown in the first described form. The ends of the trunnions may be extended and threaded to receive nuts 24 to lock the bar Ill against longitudinal movement. The principal difference be-' tween this form and that first describedis, however, that the cam disks l-I instead of working against shoulders pass through circular openings 25 in the side pieces. Thus, when the finger piece is moved from locked to releasing position, bar 10 is not only moved in the direction of the length of the buckle but is dropped away from the table. This imparts to the tongues not only an inclination to the face of the table but a retractile movement through the openings therein.

In Figures'Q, 10, and 11, I have shown a further modification in which the frame is formed of sheet metal as shown in Figures 6 to 8. In this form the cam disks I! are formed integral with a cross bar III and engages arms l8 by means of square or other non-circular projections 26. The tongues are carried by blocks 21 which are mounted on bar ID to have rotary movement relatively thereto. In this form the movement of the finger piece not only causes the bar to move in the direction of the length of the buckle but also causes it to recede from the table to retract the tongue as is best shown in Figure 10 where the position of the bar in locked position is indicated in dotted lines and its released position in full lines.

In all the forms of my buckle the construction is simple and rigid so that the strains to which it is subjected are effectively sustained. Further effective means is provided for releasing the belt under full load stress.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to a fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a tongue carried by the frame and projecting through an opening in a face thereof to engage the free end of the belt, a finger piece pivoted to the frame, and a cam positioned with its axis transverse to the length of the frame, said cam being actuated by the finger piece and cooperating with the frame to shift the end of the tongue in the direction of length of the frame to incline the belt engaging face of the tongue to the face of the frame to release the free end of the belt.

2. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to a fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a tongue carried by the frame and projecting through an opening in a face thereof to engage the free end of the belt, a movable member carried by the frame, said member including a pair of arms and a transverse finger piece, cams positioned with their axes transverse to the length of the frame, said cams being actuated by said movable member and cooperating with the frame, a cross bar extending between said cams and shiftable in the direction of the length of the frame by said cams,

and a tongue extending from the cross bar and projecting through a face of the frame to engage the belt and controlled by said cams.

3. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to a fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a tongue carried by the frame and projecting through an opening in a face thereof to engage the free end of the belt, a finger piece pivoted to the frame, and a cam positioned with its axis transverse to the length of the frame, said cam being actuated by the finger piece and cooperating with the frame to shift the end of the tongue in the direction of the length of the frame and to simultaneously impart a retractile movement thereto.

4. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to the fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a movable member carried by the frame, said member including a pair of arms and a transverse finger piece, cams rigidly carried by the arms and cooperating with the frame, a cross bar eccentrically pivoted in said cams, and a tongue rigidly carried by said bar and projecting through a face of the frame to engage the free end of the belt.

5. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to the fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a movable member carried by the frame, said member including a pair of arms and a transverse finger piece, shoulders on the frame, cams rigidly carried by the arms and cooperating with said shoulders, a cross bar eccentrically pivoted in said cams and having a slotted connection with the frame to move in the direction of the length of the frame only, and a tongue carried by said bar and projecting through a face of the frame to engage the belt.

6. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to the fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a movable member carried by the frame, said member including a pair of arms and a transverse finger piece, cams movable with the arms and cooperating with circular openings in the frame, a cross bar in eccentric relation to said cams and movable thereby both in the direction of the length of the frame and away from a face thereof, and a tongue carried by said bar and projecting laterally therefrom through a face of the frame to engage the belt.

7. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame attached at one end to the fixed end of a belt, said frame being provided at the other end with a keeper for the free end of the belt, a movable member carried by the frame, said member including a pair of arms and a transverse finger piece, cams movable with the arms and cooperating with circular openings in the frame, a cross bar eccentrically and rigidly carried by the cams, and a tongue carried by the bar but having rotary movement relative thereto, said tongue projecting through a face of the frame to engage the belt.

HOWARD BEAZLEY. 

